Council Highlights is an informal summary of a selection of the decisions Toronto City Council made at its recent business meeting. The City Clerk's formal documentation is available at http://www.toronto.ca/council.

Scarborough subway extension

Council approved the McCowan alignment for the extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway (Line 2) from Kennedy Station to Scarborough Centre, and approved an approach to procurement for the subway project. Council also endorsed a concept for a 34-bay bus terminal at the Scarborough Centre station and called for the encouragement of private-sector involvement in that project. In addition, staff were asked to work on a funding plan and construction timetable for the Eglinton East Crosstown Extension as part of the Scarborough network.

Standards for apartment buildings

Council approved the regulation of apartment buildings with the aim of improving tenants' living conditions. The resulting apartment bylaw, effective July 1, will apply to rental buildings three or more storeys tall and having 10 or more dwelling units available for rent. It will not apply to co-operative housing, long-term-care facilities or licensed retirement homes.

Rent protection

Council adopted a motion to encourage the passage and implementation of the provincial Rent Protection for All Tenants Act, 2017 for Ontario. Council also affirmed its support for changing the current situation so that tenants living in housing built or occupied after 1991 would have legislated protection to control their rent increases. Many Torontonians now spend more than half of their income on rent.

Strategy on chain stores

Council voted to request a report on creating a retail strategy that addresses the threat chain stores pose to the character of many Toronto neighbourhoods. The motion Council adopted specifies that the envisioned strategy will ensure new retail uses are consistent with the Official Plan's goals and will promote variation in the size and type of new retail spaces on commercial main streets.

Caffeinated energy drinks

Council agreed to amend the City's municipal alcohol policy so as to require the organizers of events held on City property to be familiar with Health Canada’s caution against mixing caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol. Event organizers are to be asked not to sell caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol. In addition, Council supported asking the City's agencies to consider not selling energy drinks to anyone under age 18.

Commitment to a tolerant Toronto

Council supported a motion calling on Council to condemn all forms of racism and discrimination in light of a rise in racially and bias-motivated acts in Toronto.

Federal investment in affordable housing

Council supported a motion for the City to ask the Canadian government to implement the commitments to housing funding made in the 2017 federal budget and to establish a housing funding allocation model for investing funds based on housing need. Council agreed to ask the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to release the government's proposed national housing strategy.

Gender diversity for suppliers

A motion pertaining to gender diversity in City procurements received Council's support. As a result, staff are to report back later this year on the possibility of establishing a requirement that the board of directors of companies contracting to provide goods and services to the City have at least 30 percent gender diversity.

Making meeting rooms accessible

Council voted to ask staff to pursue interim measures to make sure the council chambers and committee rooms at Toronto City Hall and the civic centres are accessible and comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Managing City investments

Council established an Investment Board to manage and oversee the City's investment of funds not immediately needed by the City. The board, which will become effective next January, will replace an existing investment advisory committee that has provided advice on investments. This change is tied to a City of Toronto Act financial regulation that takes effect January 1, 2018.

Commonwealth Games

A motion raising the possibility of Toronto bidding to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which was on the Council meeting's agenda, was referred to the Economic Development Committee without any discussion of the subject at the Council meeting.

Call for inquest into fire fatality

Council adopted a motion calling on the City to request a public inquest into the February 2017 death of Vernon Belanger, who died as a result of a fire in his unit at the Community Housing building located at 291 George St.

Regulation of dog collars

Council directed staff to undertake public consultation on the use of "prong, choke and slip" dog collars and to report back to the Licensing and Standards Committee. Council approved the repeal of a section of the Animals chapter of the Toronto Municipal Code that banned use of the collars. Information accompanying a motion before Council indicated that organizations such as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind need to be able to use such collars in their training of service dogs, for example.

Road hockey

Council adopted a motion asking Transportation Services to speed up its efforts to remove "ball play prohibited" signs from Toronto streets where they are still posted. In addition, the police board will be urged to educate police officers about the City's lift of the ban on playing hockey and basketball on streets under certain conditions and to end police enforcement of the old prohibition.

Disposal of old computers

Council supported a motion to ask staff to report on the disposal of expired computer equipment at the City, giving priority to providing usable equipment to not-for-profit organizations that have a working or financial relationship with the City. The report will also identify options for distributing computer equipment overseas in support of economic development and city building.

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Volume 20 Issue 2

Council Highlights, a summary of selected decisions made by Toronto City Council, is produced by Strategic Communications.

Formal documentation of City Council decisions: http://www.toronto.ca/council Questions about Council meetings and decisions: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Previous editions: http://bitly.com/1cmCQXI

April 5, 2017

City of Toronto to hold Digital Main Street forum to support businesses

Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the City of Toronto's Economic Development Committee, will provide greetings at the City's first Digital Main Street forum.

Date: Thursday, April 6

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Councillor remarks at 9:30 a.m.)

Location: Council Chamber, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen St. W.

Launched in June 2016, Digital Main Street is an innovative business support program that helps Toronto's small businesses by making the adoption of digital technologies easy. It's the first of its kind worldwide and now serves more than 1,200 business members. The Digital Main Street forum will feature speakers, a technology showcase, mentoring and tactical sessions to help businesses meet their growth goals.

Information about this program, which was developed by the City and the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) in collaboration with multiple private and public sector partners, is available at http://www.digitalmainstreet.ca.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. In 2017, Toronto will honour Canada's 150th birthday with "TO Canada with Love," a year-long program of celebrations, commemorations and exhibitions. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/TorontoComms and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto.